Peter Gabriel

Us

Gem from 1992

Review Score:

(8/10)
In the time when grunge music was at its peak, Peter Gabriel released US after a 5 year absence in recording (aside from Passion in 1989). Many accused Peter of re-hashing 1986's SO and not moving forward musically. Alternative grunge was stealing his low-attention span younger audience.

I can agree that "Steam" does have a "Sledgehammer" feel to it, but for the most part, US is totally different from SO. Whereas SO was more of a breakthrough pop album, US focuses inward on Peter's relationships and yields some of his most expressive music yet without losing his pop sensibility.

"Come Talk To Me" is a great opening track mixing Scottish bagpipes with African drums... a simple combination that can be easily taken forgranted but is actually quite brilliant. "The Blood of Eden" stands out both lyrically and musically as a beautiful look at the beginnings of humanity. "Washing of the Water" (my personal favorite) is a gorgeous ballad yearning for spiritual guidance. "Digging in the Dirt" is classic Peter showing both sides of himself: the calm and the angry. This song especially sounds much better remastered.

The songs mentioned are my favorites, but all of them are good. The album as a whole has a theme of yearning for love and something more than just human love. This feeling was missing from Peter's earlier bodies of work and makes US special. A hidden gem in the early nineties while alternative rock was stealing the show. How ironic that Gabriel may have invented "alternative" music in the first place.

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